Simplify coking coal definition: Assocham to government

NEW DELHI: Industry body Assocham today said the official definition of coking coal needed to be simplified as it was too technical and its interpretation is leading to litigation and delays in imports.

It said that currently the definition of coking coal is coal having mean reflectance of more than 0.60 and swelling Index or Crucible Swelling Number of 1 and above and asked the government to simplify it.

The parameters mentioned in the meaning "are too technical and sensitive. Therefore, we need to simplify the definition of coking coal based on end use application like in the case of steam coal".

"The departmental labs are not equipped to test these (technical) parameters creating delays and giving rise to litigation," the chamber said in a statement.

The chamber said that the old definition could be substituted by the description ' metallurgical coal' - coal for use in iron and steel making using any technology such as blast furnace.

It said that the move would help in enhancing the growth of iron and steel industry.